The Dunames Dark Witch 2: Enter the Duel
by kwlgirlbec
Summary: Kaiba Corp is developing a prototype game that allows you to become your favourite Duel Monster, or create your own. However, this game is about more than just entering the Duel, it's a game to save lives, and they'll need everyones help to make sure they can escape the Labyrinth.
1. Chapter 1 - Game On

**Author's Note: Hello, just a quick note to let you know this is the second installment in this story, so please read the first so you're not very confused :D Happy reading!**

 **Chapter One - Game On**

"Mokuba, you look adorable," Alexa cooed.

The teen stood before her, his black hair tied back and contained under a purple wizards hat. His eyes shone in glee as he looked down at the medieval blue tunic he was wearing along with black tights and bright purple boots.

"Awesome," he breathed.

Then, his eyes turned to look at Alexa. His reaction was immediate as his eyes widened and his cheeks turned a faint tinge of pink.

"Nice outfit, Kage," Kaiba smirked, folding his arms as he gazed in her direction.

Alexa looked down at her outfit, a tuft of bright purple hair falling beyond her shoulders. She gasped as she realised she was wearing very little clothing compared to her usual attire. All she had to maintain her dignity was a red tank top that showed off her stomach and a short white skirt with a red belt. White boots completed her look (which Alexa would have admired if she hadn't been so mortified).

"Kaiba! Are you some sort of pervert? Couldn't you programme some decent clothes into this thing?" She yelped.

"This is your fault, Kage. I told you that you could pick a Duel Monster card to base your character off, but you should have reviewed it in the edit suite. Now you won't be able to change it until you level up," he explained, amused.

Alexa grumbled as she eyed up Kaiba, who had somehow skipped the cosplay and donned his usual attire of his signature white coat. When Makuba had suggested she trial a prototype game that lets you become a version of your favourite Duel Monster, or even create a new one, she had been ecstatic, but this was definitely not what she envisioned.

"So have you guessed who I based my character off, Alexa?" Mokuba asked, indicating his attire.

"Saggi the Dark Clown, right?" She guessed.

"You could have pretended to be clueless," he pouted.

"Sorry, but the hat kind of gives it away," she laughed. "My outfit, on the other hand, barely resembles the Dunames Dark Witch. I mean, where is her armour?"

"Plus, the wings are kind of small," Mokuba commented, glancing at her pair of wings that barely passed her shoulder blades.

"Everyone starts as a level one monster. When you level up, you gain a star and have the chance to equip your monster and power it up," Kaiba explained, annoyed.

"And what Monster Card are you based off, may I ask?" Alexa retorted.

"It's got to be Blue Eyes, right bro?" Mokuba chided.

"Come on," he ordered.

Kaiba stalked off across the grassy plains that surrounded them. With a shrug directed at each other, Alexa and Mokuba followed him. Coming over a mound, they caught up with Kaiba who was staring down at some insect monsters that Alexa recognised as _Petite Moth (Atk 300/ Def 200)_ and _Basic Insect (500/700)_.

"Alright, what do we have to do?" Mokuba questioned Kaiba.

Alexa shook her head and started running toward the group of monsters. As she gained momentum, her body started to glow with a bright golden light, her stats showing one star and _Atk 450/ Def 300_. She slashed at a _Petite Moth,_ causing it to be destroyed in a rain of sparks. With a grin, she began hacking at the others. Kaiba watched her looking bored.

"Hey, my attacks won't work!" Mokuba complained, storming over to join Alexa and Kaiba.

"That's because you only have 200 attack points," Kaiba sighed.

"Then how am I supposed to…" Mokuba was cut off as he realised the insects had surrounded them.

Alexa backed up, as a _Basic Insect_ began sizing her up, preparing to attack.

"Err, Kaiba, I don't suppose you could lend me hand?" She asked hopefully.

Alexa could see from his stats that he was already a four star monster with _Atk 1500/ Def 1000_. As Kaiba glared at her, she suspected she was on her own and decided to kick out at the insects head. Upon impact, she was thrown backwards, landing with a crash on the ground. Picking herself up, she wondered why she hadn't taken any damage.

"Do I not lose life points, or something?" Alexa asked, surprised.

"It will go against you later. You need to defend," Kaiba sneered.

"Oh, right," Alexa said, feeling stupid.

Alexa kneeled, shifting her hands to cross across her chest, and trying to replicate how her monster looked in defence position. As the insect attacked again, she braced, glad she wasn't thrown back this time. Mokuba followed her lead, the _Petite Moth_ he was facing bursting into sparks.

"Couldn't you have designed this so we started off a bit stronger? We can barely take _Basic Insects_ for goodness sake," she grumbled.

As they both defended, Mokuba began to emit waves of shadows, having taken on quite a few insects. As the _Basic Insects_ closed in on him, the shadows erupted forming a column that exploded outward, taking the bugs with it. Mokuba emerged from the shadows, now donning a purple staff and a yellow star on his eye.

"Look guys, I levelled up!" Mokuba pointed out gleefully.

A shining star was added to his stats, which had increased from 200/600 to 600/1000. Using the power of his new accessories, he started targeting the _Basic Insects_ , allowing Alexa to pick off the _Petite Moths_. Soon, Alexa began to feel a rush as she became empowered with a golden light which engulfed her as she levelled up.

Alexa watched as the game around her was paused and faded into the background. In front of her, she watched as a summary of her battles popped up. Her successful ones seemed to add to her score, but Kaiba had been right when he said that she would regret attacking a monster stronger than herself, since she lost points for it.

From there the real fun started, as Alexa could edit her character. Firstly, she changed her original outfit, opting for a red dress that ended in white ruffles at her knees. Relieved, she then looked through the power ups, each with their own benefits. In the end, she choose some red armour and upgraded her wings to up her stats to 900/550, leaving her with some points spare.

"Now this is what I'm talking about," she grinned, deciding to get revenge for her points lost on the now weak insects.

"Glad you finally decided to put some clothes on," Kaiba sneered.

"Just you wait. Soon I'll be a four star monster that can kick your but," she warned him.

"Bring it on, Kage," he taunted her.

Alexa raged, ready to take on Kaiba, regardless of his stats, when she was interrupted as a reminder popped up on the screen; 'Game Designer Pitch, 13:00'.

"Saved by the boardroom," Mokuba chuckled.

"Let's go," Kaiba commanded, disappearing from the game.

"Are you coming, Mokuba?" Alexa asked.

"No way. I want to level up so I can be as strong as Seto," Mokuba explained.

Alexa shook her head. It seemed this game was way too addictive because she was tempted to do the same, but, unfortunately, duty called.

"Ok, maybe you can find out what we're actually supposed to do in this game while you're at it. See ya!" She called out with a wave.

Pulling the virtual reality helmet off her head, Alexa had to blink to bring herself back into reality. She had to admit, Kaiba definitely knew how to design a game. Everything had felt so real. It was almost a shame to come back into reality. Sighing, Alexa stretched, soon setting off to the entrance of the building to greet Kaiba's one o'clock appointment.

XxX

Alexa waited at the entrance of the Kaiba Corporation building, glancing around, arms folded. Her face formed into a scowl as she wondered who on Earth she was supposed to be waiting for. 'You'll know when you see them,' Kaiba had barked at her. Soon, a familiar car pulled up and Alexa gave it a confused look as Joey Wheeler got out from the driver's seat.

"Hey dere, Alexa," he greeted her with a cheeky grin and a wave.

"Joey?" She exclaimed. "No way. You are not Kaiba's one o'clock. He, well he…"

"Hates me?" Joey interjected.

"Well, yeah," Alexa sighed.

"Don't worry. I'm jus' here for moral support, ya know?" He grinned.

"What are you…" Alexa started, interrupted by her own gasp.

Getting out at the passenger side of Joey's car was Yugi Mutou. As in the Yugi Mutou, King of Games. Alexa felt a flutter in her chest as she stood, awe struck at the legend before her.

"And here I was thinkin' you were my biggest fan, Alexa," Joey laughed at her reaction.

In response, Alexa gave him a playful slap on the arm and tried to calm herself down. Smoothing down her shirt, she walked up to Yugi and held out her hand.

"Mr Mutou, Alexa Kage. It's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted him, her heart hammering in her chest in pure excitement.

"Nice to meet you too," he responded whilst shaking her hand.

"Kaiba is waiting for you in meeting room five. Is there anything I can do for you before you head up?" She asked politely.

"I don't suppose my friends could wait somewhere, could they?" He questioned her, looking towards the two people who had also emerged from Joey's car.

"I'm sure I could sneak them in. You've all got to be security checked beforehand though. Is that ok?"

"Got my ID right here for ya," Joey called out, waving an ID in her face.

Alexa snatched the ID from his hand, giving him a glare that Kaiba would have been proud of.

"Then, please, follow me," she invited them.

The group talked amongst themselves whilst Alexa scanned their IDs. Alexa had to laugh when she saw that Yugi's friends, which she now knew as Tristan Taylor and Teá Gardner, were on the no entry list.

"Is there a problem?" Tristan asked, giving her a curious glance.

"What on earth did you guys do to earn the privilege to end up on the no entry list?" She shook her head at them, laughing.

"Don't tell me we can't come in to support Yugi," Teá whined.

"Calm down, Princess. I can get you in," she grinned.

Teá blinked at her, evidently in shock, causing Alexa to smirk. Next, she entered some details into the computer and printed off the passes they would need to gain entry to the top floors. Handing them out, she guided their group onwards and upwards.

"So, what brings you here, Mr Mutou?" Alexa wondered, while they stood in the elevator.

"Please, call me Yugi. I'm trying to get Kaiba Corp to mass produce one of my game ideas. It's a virtual reality where you can become your favourite Duel Monster, or make your own. Apparently, Kaiba's developed the prototype, so I'm here to see if we can come to some arrangement," Yugi explained.

"You designed that game?" Alexa exclaimed. "Well, let me tell you, of the small bit I've played, it was amazing. Can't wait to see what it becomes."

"How did you like the character design?" Yugi asked her, intrigued.

"Brilliant. I choose the Dunames Dark Witch as my base and I've already began tailoring her with armour and upgraded wings," she gushed.

"Nice. Tried out any spell or trap cards yet?" He inquired.

"Must not have gotten that far yet. Fancy giving me some tips? Me and Mokuba are hoping to beat Kaiba's but at the thing," she laughed.

"You'll figure it out," he replied with a secretive smile.

As the group arrived at their floor, Alexa heard Joey whisper 'smooth' into her ear. In retaliation, she elbowed him in the stomach, walking out to guide the group to the lounge area. First, she dropped off Yugi's friends (once Joey had finally caught his breath). Next, Alexa escorted Yugi to the meeting room. Knocking on the door, she entered without hesitation.

"Kaiba, Mr Mutou is here," she announced to the boardroom.

Alexa smirked as Kaiba glared at her in response to calling Yugi 'Mr Mutou'.

"I can see that. Don't you have some work to do?" Kaiba growled.

"Good luck," she chirped as Yugi entered the room.

Looks like he was going to need it.


	2. Chapter 2 - Target Practise

**Chapter Two - Target Practise**

Alexa leaned against the wall, reviewing the status reports of the candidates currently facing Kaiba Corp's recruitment initiative. She chuckled as she watched the security camera footage of one guy trying to get into the building on Sakura Way. So far he had tried kicking it down, taking a pick axe to the roof, and using a weld to melt a hole into the door. He had obviously missed the access panel used to place Pot of Greed on that she had used to get in. As she peered at her device, Alexa watched as the lights on the ceiling within the screen's reflection flickered. Eyes now on the ceiling, she reached for her communication device on her collar.

"Everything alright in there, Roland?" She inquired, getting nothing but silence. "Roland?"

Alexa swiped her security card at the access panel and walked in to find everyone staring intently at a holographic map, its viewpoint focused on a castle that floated at head height, surrounded by a mighty kingdom. Stemming from the castle snaked a labyrinth that spanned the entire city.

"What's going on?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"We've got a problem," Kaiba sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"It's the game. Someone has managed to upload an unauthorised expansion pack to the main kingdom," Yugi explained, indicating the labyrinth of tunnels under the castle.

"So get rid of it, upgrade security and firewalls and we're all good, right?" She pointed out, confused.

"Sir, I've just received word from downstairs. It seems all of our game testers can't evacuate the game. They're trapped," Roland announced, hanging up on his phone.

"How do you get trapped in a virtual reality? Stop messing around and get them out," Alexa exclaimed.

"It happens," Kaiba shrugged as if this was an everyday occurance.

"It happens?" Alexa shrieked. "Why don't you go tell your brother that, Kaiba? You know, the one who is apparently trapped in a video game."

Kaiba's face darkened. Alexa winced, only now realising that Kaiba might not have known that his brother had stayed behind to play the game. She followed him out, trying to keep up as he walked briskly to the lounge where Mokuba rested in an armchair, his virtual reality helmet still covering his face. Alexa watched as Kaiba's body radiated with pure rage at the sight. Immediately, Kaiba reached for the virtual reality helmet Alexa had left lying around.

"What are you doing?" She said, grabbing his hand. "We can't have you both stuck in there. You made this game. You'd be better off at the computer, I'll go in after your brother."

"I've looked out for my brother my entire life, long before you showed up, Kage," he growled.

With that he lay down next to his brother and put on the helmet. Alexa sighed, reaching for her phone.

"Roland?" She paused as Roland replied. "I want the lead developer of this game to meet me. Tell them to bring as many virtual reality helmets that we have on site."

"Alexa? What's goin' on?" Joey asked her, walking in with Yugi and his friends.

"Mukuba and the game testers are stuck in the game. I'm going after them. Kaiba's gone ahead," she sighed, glaring at Kaiba's unconscious body.

"Let us help. I designed the game. I know it better than anyone," Yugi offered.

"You realise that if you go in there, you'll be stuck until we figure this out," she warned him.

"We're not about to let you go in dere all alone, Alexa," Joey shook his head.

"Yeah, Mokuba is our friend and we're not about to abandon him," Teà chirped up.

"I don't know guys. This scenario didn't work out too well for me last time. I still have nightmares about being a robot monkey," Tristan interjected.

Alexa had to wonder if these guys just attracted trouble, considering being locked in a video game wasn't a novel experience, but now really wasn't the time. As she loaded the specifications for the game, a young woman came in, pushing a black box. She pushed her glasses up from the brim of a small button nose and glanced between Teá and Alexa.

"Miss Kage?" She asked, her voice was high pitched and wispy.

"You developed the game?" Alexa asked the woman. She nodded, her black curls bouncing around her head. "Good. People are trapped and can't leave the game. We'll be going in using the helmets you've brought and you're going to monitor us. Help us from the outside if you can."

The woman's brown eyes widened, but she nodded slowly and looked around at the group.

"I'm afraid I only have three helmets loaded with the game. The rest are either in use by my own development team, or the game testers," she gushed.

"That's enough," Alexa said, grabbing a helmet.

"What about us?" Teá demanded, indicating her and Tristan.

"I'm more concerned about the people trapped in a game right now, princess," Alexa snapped.

"We'll be fine, Teá," Yugi reassured her.

"Just…"

Alexa cut her off as she put on her helmet and entered the virtual reality. Glancing around she recognised the grassy plains from her first time in the game. Soon, Joey and Yugi materialised. Joey was in plain black clothing, but his eyes seemed to have a red glow about them, instead of his usual blue. His stats stood at level one, _Atk 350/ Def 300._

On the other hand, Yugi was already a level five monster, donning a purple tunic with matching armor and a cone shaped helmet. His weapon of choice was a long magical staff and his stats stood at _Atk 1800/ Def 1200_. Alexa was surprised before she scolded herself. Obviously, the game designer would have played his own game before.

"So, how do we get to the kingdom from here?" Alexa asked Yugi.

"It's not far. The kingdom is supposed to be the players first port of call," Yugi explained.

"Err, guys. Dese things are givin' me the bug eye," Joey announced, voice wobbly.

"We don't have time for this," Alexa sighed, eyeing up the insect monsters heading towards them.

"If we don't level up, we might not be strong enough to face what comes later. We shouldn't rush this," Yugi cautioned her.

It seemed they didn't have much choice in the matter as they were swarmed with a bug infestation. Alexa attacked ferociously, granting no mercy to the insects that stood between her and Mokuba. Before long their enemy was eradicated and Joey had managed to level up to _Atk 800/ Def 500_.

Soon, Yugi was leading the way across the grassy plains until a huge kingdom came into sight, sturdy stone walls encompassing the entire thing. Alexa eyed up the soldiers that were pacing its parameter, as well as the ones guarding the point of entry.

"Good day to you travellers! Might I be so bold as to inquire to your business?" An elderly soldier questioned them gravely.

"We're just passing through. We'll be needing some supplies," Yugi told them as they eyed him up.

"Well I'd be swiftly on your way, sir. We've had trouble in these parts of late," he rasped.

"Let me guess. A Phantom Knight? A dragon? What are we dealing with here?" Joey chuckled.

"This is no joke, traveller. The winged beast attacks from the sky. No one can stop the dreaded Kurama," the soldier trembled.

"Right, well we'll be on our way then," Alexa said passively, annoyed that they had to go through the motions of the game.

"I don't blame you, traveller. Our kingdom is doomed. If only there was somebody out there strong enough to take on the beast," the soldier whined.

"This guy is going to whine until we agree to take on this winged beast, isn't he?" Alexa sighed.

"It's kind of his job," Yugi admitted apologetically.

"Let me tell you somethin' old man. What you've got here is da baddest monster hunters in town. We'll take down dat Kurama for ya," Joey chirped, his chest puffed up in pride.

"Ah, excellent! I knew it the moment you approached. Please, enter our Kingdom and head up to the castle right away. Just tell 'em ol' Fred sent ya," the man's eyes twinkled.

Moments later, the gates were rising and the group were able to enter to see a bustling Kingdom, full of life. Market stalls lined the streets, while children ran around happily, their minds oblivious to the adults that glanced up into the sky in fear. As Alexa glanced around, her eye caught on to a small beam of light that hovered around her field of vision.

"Miss Kage?" A familiar wispy voice piped up from the ball of light.

"Is that you… err," Alexa cursed herself when she realised she hadn't even asked the game developers name.

"It's Harriet, Miss Kage. I've come to give you a map to the kingdom, along with the the labyrinth layout. It seems the entry point is contained in a well within the castle grounds, so you're going to have to infiltrate it to gain access," she explained.

"Well, we've already got an invitation from 'ol' Fred' so that's not going to be a problem," she divulged. "Have you seen Kaiba?"

"He's already made it to the castle, Miss Kage," Harriet informed her.

"Woah, look at all dese cards Alexa," Joey exclaimed from behind her.

Alexa turned to see that each market stall was set up with spell and trap cards, many of which Joey was trying to grab at while an annoyed looking merchant swatted his hand away.

"Ahh, I see you, unlike this poor gentleman, have some points left," he grinned. "Might I interest you in a power up, my dear? We have traps to save your hide, spells to stop your foes, and even equips to make you stronger!"

"Hey Alexa, lend me some points. I've got to buy this ' _Sword of Dark Destruction_ ' to power myself up," Joey's eyes gleamed down at the card.

"Maybe you should get this," Yugi suggested, pointing out another equip card on sale.

Alexa glanced down at the card, surprised to see ' _Fairy Bow and Arrow_ ' which would increase her attack and defence by 300 points. It was the perfect weapon to power up her ' _Dunames Dark Witch_ '.

"How much?" Alexa asked the merchant.

"For you, my dear, I would give it over for the remainder of your points," the man grinned.

"What do you think, Yugi?" She asked him.

"You should do it. You would never get that much of a power up with the pre-designed equips in the level up menu. That's why it's always smart to keep some points aside in this game," he explained.

"I'll take it," Alexa told the merchant.

"Aw man, but I wanted the sword so bad," Joey complained glum.

Alexa shook her head as Joey stooped over the table in despair. Taking the card from the merchant, the bow materialised in her hand and her points tally increased to an impressive _Atk 1200/ Def 850_. However, her glee was cut short as a scream echoed out across the Kingdom. Alexa's gaze followed the citizens as she peered up into the sky.

"It's the winged beast."

"The dreaded Kurama."

"We're doomed!"

Alexa watched as the blue eagle-like creature flew across the sky, it's mighty wings causing a shadow to fall on the Kingdom. Quick as a flash, it swooped in with its orange talons to take a swipe and she barely mananged to tuck herself into a roll to evade. Coming out of her roll, she took aim with her bow, an arrow of light filling it's sheath as she drew back the string. Firing, Alexa cursed as the arrow missed by a wide margin, Kurama flying out of range.

"Yugi, Joey, can you bait it to the ground for me? I can hit it if it's in range," she yelled across to them.

Each of the guys nodded, taking off at a run with their eyes fixed at the sky. Alexa opted to gain a higher position by hitting the roof tops, weapon grasped in hand as she scaled the nearby building. Let target practise began, she thought.


	3. Chapter 3 - May Ray Be With You

**Chapter Three - May Ra Be With You**

Alexa ran across the rooftops, using the power of her wings to give her that extra lift required to cross the buildings placed further apart. All the while, he eyes were fixed on the sky, ready for the moment that Kurama decided to take aim at Yugi or Joey. Who was she kidding? The beast always went for Joey.

So, as Joey acted as the bait, shrieking at the sky for the 'big bird brain' to come and challenge him, Yugi shot blasts of dark magic into the sky hoping to draw the beast to lower ground. Alexa was sure he could probably take out the beast with one blast, given how strong he was, but it seemed that levelling up his friends was a bigger priority to him.

"Joey, I can't shoot if you're in my line of sight. You might get hit too," she warned him.

"Just take the damn shot Alexa, before I become bird chow!" He yelled back.

"Alexa, I have a plan, just take the shot. I'll make sure Joey isn't hit," Yugi reassured her.

Alexa nodded. Despite knowing Yugi for less than a couple of hours, he had that personality that told you he would do anything for his friends. He was dependable, reliable, and he would never betray them. Alexa liked that a lot. It was far from the game of secrets and deception she had to play her entire life.

Quick as a flash, Kurama circled Joey as a vulture would its prey. Impatient, Joey launched an attack, a beam of red malice erupting from his mouth as he roared in frustration. The target hit its mark, and Alexa tensed, wondering if it was enough to defeat it. Unfortunately, it wasn't. It was a draw with both having an attack of 800. However, the winged beast was furious and dived into Joey's path, a collision inevitable. Alexa drew her bow, hesitating that Joey was still in her line of sight.

"Fire!"

Under Yugi's prompt, Alexa let loose her arrow, her heart hammering as it soared towards Joey and the winged beast. The winged beast raised its talon and lashed out. Alexa choked as the talon met material, as Joey was replaced with a top hat branded with a question mark.

"Magical Hats," she gasped, realising Yugi had managed to change Joey's position within the four hats that were now dotted around the street.

As expected, the hat the bird had attacked was empty and before it could pick out another target, the arrow found its mark, causing the winged beast to explode in a shower of silver sparks. The silence that followed was deafening, interrupted as Alexa obtained level three, adding a winged circlet and white gloves to her character to achieve stats of _Atk 1500/ Def 1100_ when equipped with her bow and arrow.

"The winged beast… is it gone?" One person asked following a lengthy silence.

Yugi nodded, causing the citizen to gasp, a chorus of cheers erupting as the word spread and the people gathered round, applauding their new heroes. Alexa smiled, jumping down from off the rooftops to join Yugi and Joey on the ground, now surrounded by masses of cheering people that had emerged from their homes.

"Forget about it," Joey grinned. "We're just your average heroes, right Alexa?"

Alexa shook her head, a faint smile on her lips.

"Ho, ho, what did I say? I knew these kids could do it," a raspy voice announced.

Alexa turned to see the soldier from the gate approach, a wide smile emphasising the crows feet on his face.

"Let us soldiers escort you folks up into the castle, I'm sure the King will be pleased as punch to hear ya managed to defeat Kurama," he offered.

"That would be good, thank you," Yugi smiled. "We actually think the King may be able to help us save our friend."

"Ah, a comrade needs help you say? Well, let's get to it youngsters. I'm sure the King will be more than willing to assist the saviours of his Kingdom."

With that, the three made their way up to the castle, citizens applauding them and cheering as they passed by. Their escort of soldiers led the way, past the heavily guarded gates and the inner wall of the Kingdom to reveal a stunning white castle with golden trimmings. The inside was even more magnificent, decorated with extranagent furnishing, however Alexa was distracted by the soldiers quickening pace as they headed towards the throne room.

"What's going on?" Alexa eyes narrowed.

"Perhaps they are all eager to tell their King of the good news, hmm?" The elderly soldier smiled.

As they approached what Alexa suspected the be the throne room, she saw a commotion happening within through the already open doors. Without thinking, she ran in, shocked to see that Kaiba was restrained by a group of soldiers, many pointing a spear in his direction.

"Stop!" She shouted.

"Who are you to give my soldiers orders, young lady?" Came a booming voice from the back of the room.

"Your Majesty, these are the heroes who have just this moment defeated the great Kurama," Fred babbled.

"Indeed," the voice mused. "Come forth."

Alexa approached the raised throne to see a large and muscular man sat upon it, a crown donning half of his head, which was far too big for the grand accessory. From behind, Yugi approached and kneeled in respect to the King. Alexa and Joey thought it wise to copy him.

"Explain yourselves," the King ordered.

"Your Majesty, that man over their is our…" she paused, looking towards Kaiba, "comrade. We need him to fulfill our quest to save his brother."

"Ah, so you too desire access to the mighty labyrinth that supposedly dwells beneath my castle. Well, as heroes that defeated Kurama I am able to grant you access to our grounds, but your comrade, he has committed crimes equal to treason since we told him Kurama had already been defeated," he explained.

In other words, Kaiba had planned to defeat Kurama, in exchange for access to the well and when they had defeated the winged beast themselves, he had thrown a fit and tried to attack the King. Brilliant. Alexa gave him a glare, which he happily returned through his brown locks as he was forced to kneel on the floor, restrained.

"Father, please have mercy! That man just wanted to save his brother," came a shrill voice from behind.

All eyes turned to a girl that highly resembled Téa. Alexa's eyes were drawn to the silver tiara that rested on her head.

"Fitting," Alexa muttered under her breath, causing Yugi to look sheepish.

"Princess!"

Alexa watched as the soldiers stern and cold faces turned to mush when faced with their 'Princess'.

"Please, Father. Return this man to his comrades and allow them to tackle the labyrinth together. Only with the power of their friendship can they defeat the darkness that awaits!" She begged, eyes wide.

Alexa suddenly had the urge to gag, but was distracted as she heard a sniff coming from the throne. It seems the Princess had reduced the hulking King to tears, his lips quivering with emotion.

"Oh, my daughter, how can I say no to those pleading eyes," he sniffed. "Soldiers, release the man and fetch me the contents of vault 24. We will be leading this group to the well within our grounds."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

XxX

"I was fine on my own, Kage," Kaiba muttered as they walked through the castle grounds.

"Looked like it. I usually like to spend my times on my knees with a spear to my throat as well," she hissed, voice dripping with sarcasm.

A small girlish giggle came from behind as the Princess raised a hand to her mouth.

"Forgive me," she apologised. "It's just so wonderful to see a love so strong."

Alexa's mouth dropped while Kaiba adopted an icy stare, his face void of expression. Fortunately, the Princess was too distracted to notice due to the fact that Joey was currently choking, his wheezing coughs causing him to go red in the face.

"I think your 'Princess' has a glitch or two in her system, Yugi. Who would have thought Téa could become more annoying," she muttered.

"You don't know the half of it, Kage," Kaiba complained.

"That Princess is the most powerful character in the game!" Yugi yelped in her defence.

Alexa watched as the Princess hovered over Joey, panicking as he turned a startling shade of purple.

"Looks like it," she smiled, thinking it was cute how much Yugi liked this girl. "So when are you going to ask her out?"

"The Princess?" Yugi shrieked, blushing.

"No, you idiot. Never mind," she sighed.

The group paused as they approached a large well, the King himself standing in wait as they gathered around. Beside him stood a soldier who grasped a golden box.

"According to your map, this is the entrance to the labyrinth. Of what awaits you I can not say, however I have some gifts that I suspect will be useful on your journey," the King grunted.

A soldier bowed before them, offering their group three cards that rested on a red velvet pillow, which the Princess took one by one.

"For you, young magician, we give to you ' _Lightning Vortex_ ', rumoured to banish an enemy from your sights," she explained handing Yugi the Spell card. "For you, young dragon, we give the card ' _Metalmorph_ ', which is said to call a hidden strength within yourself, and for you, young fairy, we offer you a spell that may be your salvation."

Alexa glanced down at the ' _Cost Down_ ' card wondering how it worked in this game. Would taking away someone's stars de-level them for one battle? She supposed there was only one way to find out...

"Oh dear, Kaibaman, you seem quite perplexed we've missed you out," she giggled. "Don't worry, I'm sure the fairy will protect you."

Alexa raised her eyebrows at the Princess and shrugged it off. They were ditching her now and that was all that mattered.

"Kaibaman?" Joey wondered aloud.

"Good luck to you, young heroes," the Princess smiled. "May Ra's guiding light be with you."


	4. Chapter 4 - The Labyrinth

**A/N: Hey guys! So I update every week when writing, but you'll be happy to know this story is now completely finished, so updates will now be every couple of days. Usually this story writes itself, but I had a Duel to write and it took a good couple of rewrites to make it to a standard I was happy with. I seriously can't wait to see what you guys think. Might even do a double update for the Duel :D**

 **Chapter Four - The Labyrinth**

"Hey Yug, does dis labyrinth look familiar to you?" Joey wondered.

"I don't think this is an ordinary labyrinth, Joey. I think it might actually be the Duel Monster card. Like the one we were in when we battled Para and Dox," Yugi confirmed.

"Den dis is good right! No need to navigate it when we can just defeat it," Joey schemed.

"Go ahead, genius," Kaiba taunted him.

"Don't, Joey," Alexa sighed. "' _The Labyrinth Wall_ ' is a Duel Monster with 3000 defence points. Not even Yugi could defeat it at his current strength."

"What if I used my ' _Metalmorph_ ' card?" Joey asked.

"With an attack of 0, you would only achieve an attack of 1100 points," Yugi explained.

"How did an idiot like you become a Pro Duelist?" Kaiba scowled.

Alexa shook her head, watching as the two began sizing each other up. Sighing, she stepped between them, giving them both a pointed stare.

"Can we please just get along so we can save Mokuba?" She growled.

With a huff the two backed off, but Alexa was distracted as a heavy stomping could be heard from around the corner. Her eyes narrowed as a blue muscular creature emerged, its one eye gazing in their direction. With a roar it charged, but just as soon it burst into wisps of shadow, thanks to her arrow, many more following in its wake. Alexa frowned, thinking they were much too intent on reaching her as she fired multiple shots.

"Why are they going for me?" She huffed.

"They're ' _Hiro's Shadow Scout_ ' and instead of their flip effect, in this game they target players with Spell cards on them," Yugi called over to her.

Alexa sighed. She supposed it made sense that they would try to steal Spell cards instead of making the player discard Spell cards to the grave like they usually did, but that didn't mean she was happy about it. Why did she have to get picked on?

"Alexa watch out!" Joey called.

Alexa turned just in time to see a ' _Whiptail Crow_ ' drop from the ceiling to attack her while her back was turned. Next thing she knew, Kaiba had donned a white mask, his cloak fluttering in the wind as he targeted the fiend. With a puff of shadows the fiend was destroyed and Alexa was left to wonder when Kaiba had managed to become a level five monster with _Atk 1800/ Def 1400_.

"Looks like you owe me, Kage," he smirked as he turned to her.

Behind him a ' _Hiro's Shadow Scout'_ decided to try his luck. Alexa aimed and made her shot within seconds.

"Looks like you owe me, Kaiba," she retorted.

Looking around, Alexa could see they had managed to clear the way.

"That was too close. Looks like the weaker monsters are being used as distractions, while the more powerful ones take advantage," Yugi frowned, clearly not happy they had broke the sacred rule of video games where battles gradually increase in difficulty.

Kaiba tutted and walked off, heading in a seemingly random direction.

"Where do ya think you're going?" Joey shouted after him.

"To find my brother," Kaiba called back with a wave of his hand.

"Let's just follow him. Trial and error is the only way we can navigate anyway," Alexa sighed.

"No way am I going with rich boy," Joey pouted as Kaiba rounded a corner.

Alexa sighed.

"Look after Joey for me Yugi!" She shouted, running after Kaiba before she could lose him.

"Wait!"

Alexa smiled as she heard the patter of feet running after her. Turning, she watched as Joey and Yugi ran towards her, only to disappear as the labyrinth began to shift, its walls closing her off from them.

"Joey? Yugi?" She shouted, pounding at the wall.

"Shout louder. I don't think the monsters can hear you," came a snide remark from behind.

"Shut up, Kaiba. This is your fault for running off on your own," she barked.

"You decided to follow me," he pointed out, eyebrows raised.

"Knowing those two aren't idiotic enough to leave me alone with you," she retaliated.

"As if that would be so bad," he smirked, eyes taunting her.

"Well, obviously you didn't think so considering you waited for me," she shot back.

"Dream on, Kage. I don't wait for anyone," he disregarded her, turning around to head down the new tunnel.

"Then your ass is slow as hell."

Storming after Kaiba, Alexa was surprised to see the labyrinth opened up to a room, three possible exits to choose from. Kaiba didn't even hesitate and headed straight ahead, managing to walk face first into the wall that replaced where the door had been.

"Smooth," Alexa chuckled.

Kaiba growled and headed to the left, managing to jump back before the wall closed off this time. Alexa gasped as the wall shifted and contorted, a green shadow seemingly emerging from within. Immediately, she grabbed Kaiba, taking him out of reach of the monsters three sharp claws.

" _Wall Shadow_ ," she gasped, gazing into his eyes as she guarded him with her body.

Before they knew it, the ' _Wall Shadow_ ' (Atk 1600/ Def 3000) struck again, both of them managing to escape by mere millimetres as they scrambled to the middle of the room. The shadow regarded them and slowly shrunk back into its hiding place.

"We'll have to get it as it attacks. Otherwise we'll never stand up to it's defence," Kaiba schemed.

"Great. Looks like I'm bait," Alexa muttered, brushing off her outfit as she stood up.

Slowly, she approached the wall, edging closer than she thought her body would allow. Her body was tense, ready for the strike of the shadow. The minutes dragged on, making Alexa scowl, wondering how long the shadow would make them wait. Suddenly, the ' _Wall Shadow_ ' lashed out, targeting her at her feet to catch her off guard. She jumped, surprised, as Kaiba slid into the fray, landing on his knees and using his momentum to slash a white knife upwards into the shadow's abdomen, cutting it off from the wall and causing it to shatter into wispy shadows.

"That was… that was…" Alexa stammered.

"Let's go," Kaiba commanded, heading out the exit he originally attempted to take.

"Yes, sir."

Alexa had to tell herself to get a grip, for once glad Kaiba had his back turned to her as he wandered off, a pink tinge creeping upon her cheeks. What was she thinking? _That that was kind of hot_ , her head whispered back.

XxX

"Alexa?"

"Hmm?" She answered, lost in her own head.

"You're too quiet," Kaiba complained.

"I thought it was your eternal wish for me to shut up," she joked tentatively.

"Perhaps, but it's not natural unless something's wrong," he glared at her.

"And here I was thinking you didn't care," she cooed.

"You can go back to being quiet now," he sighed.

Alexa smiled, shaking her head. Maybe she was going a little stir crazy in this enclosed environment. Probably. Up front, Kaiba came to a halt, which made Alexa jog to catch up. Up ahead the labyrinth came to an opening, which, given past experiences, had them on guard. With a nod, they advanced ahead, ready for whatever faced them.

Given that Alexa's expectation was a monster far beyond their capabilities, she was almost relieved when she walked in to find another player. The girl had fiery red hair, contained within a circlet with a pale blue gemstone at it's centre. She wore a red leather jacket and trousers, which Alexa had to admire, and equipped on her hands were sharp red claws.

"Well, it's about time," she pouted.

"Are you one of the game testers?" Alexa asked the red haired girl.

"Hmm? Don't be silly. You can call me Ruby," she said sweetly, head tilted.

"Alright Ruby, if you're not a game tester, then why are you here?" Alexa questioned the girl.

"We're here for you, silly. We hit the jackpot when you all stumbled into the game. Our lives would just be so much easier if your bodies were mindless puppets that we could use to do as we please. As soon as the boss heard, well, of course he had to send in the big players," she grinned maliciously.

"Out of my way. I don't have time for you," Kaiba growled.

"Just try it," Ruby smirked, raising her weapons.

Alexa suspected they were outmatched, but right now it wasn't like they had much of a choice. Drawing her bow, she fired the first shot, prepared for the arrow to be deflected by the girl's claws. What she didn't expect was a speedy retaliation, knocking her hard against the labyrinth's walls. Alexa picked herself up and faced her opponent.

Shining above Ruby's head were ten gleaming stars, which meant she had maxed out on levels. What was strange was that all she had to show for it was a measly 2000 attack and defence points. But then again, that still beat Kaiba by a good 200 points.

"What's wrong? Scared?" She laughed.

"Kaiba? Any bright ideas?" Alexa asked hopefully.

Kaiba stared down his opponent.

"What gives you the right to imitate a God?" He sneered.

Ruby grinned and started to applaud.

"Oh, well done. Boy genius strikes again I see. Well, I just love dragons and Slifer is the strongest of them all so I thought, 'why not use him as my base character?'" She bragged.

"Slifer?" Alexa gasped. "We can't beat an Egyptian God card!"

"True," Ruby grinned.

"Wrong," Kaiba interjected. "No monster is invincible."

"So what's the plan, boy genius?" She asked.

"This."

Alexa watched as Kaiba sat down and leaned against the wall as if he was about to take a break. Was it a distraction? Was she supposed to attack? She didn't really feel like getting thrown against a wall again.

"Wow. Looks like he's opted to watch you die, sweetie. Tough break," she fake-sympathised.

"I'm not your opponent anymore. She is," he stated.

"If you don't shut your mouth Kaiba, I'll be your damn opponent," Alexa growled.

"Hit her," he ordered.

"I'll hit you in a…"

"Trust me."

"Wow, he really doesn't like you, does he?" Ruby laughed.

Alexa notched her bow and drew back the string, aiming for the girl who stood there acting as if she had just pointed a water gun at her. ' _Trust me,_ ' he had said. She let go of the arrow and watched as Ruby, once again, went to swat it away. However, the arrow found it's target. Ruby gasped down at her chest in shock, before her body fell to the ground.

"What just happened?" Alexa asked open-mouthed.

"Slifer's ability in Duel Monsters is to have X000 life points based on the number of cards the duellist is holding, but that can't happen in this game. So I thought that, considering there were two of us, X in this scenario might stand for her number of opponents," Kaiba explained smug.

"What made you so sure she wasn't just carrying two spell or trap cards like I am?" Alexa wondered.

Kaiba stayed silent.

"You idiot! You mean you didn't know! I could have been blasted into the wall for a second time!" She scolded him fiercely.

"But you didn't."

"Yeah, well next time you take that gamble, take the damn chance with your own neck on the line," she growled.

"Come on. Let's go find Mokuba," he replied.

 _And so the world was brought back into balance with Seto Kaiba firmly back in the douche-bag category_ , she thought.


	5. Chapter 5 - May Ra Get Lost

Chapter Five - May Ra Get Lost

Alexa drew her bow, ready to face the two enemies before her.

"Wait, Alexa! It's us," Yugi yelped.

"Yugi? Joey?" She exclaimed.

Swiftly, she ran up to them and surprised herself when she found she was giving them a big hug. Awkwardly, she stepped back, happy to see the two grinning idiots before her.

"Did ya miss us, Alexa?" Joey grinned.

"Can you blame me? You left me with that guy," she stage whispered, indicating a frowning Kaiba.

"You'll never believe what happened to us. This kid used Obelisk as his base character, which was supposed to be impossible, but I suppose they used the hack to fix their characters," Yugi frowned.

"Same. We got a girl who used Slifer as her base character. So, how did you defeat Obelisk?" She wondered.

At her question Joey began to pout, obviously miserable about what had happened.

"I had to use Joey's 'Metalmorph' card," Yugi explained. "With my 1800 attack points I was able to beat his 4000 by 100 points. Look, Joey I'm sorry about your card…"

"Don't sweat it, Yug," Joey pawed him off.

"Here, why don't you take this?" He offered, handing him his 'Lightning Vortex'.

"I can't," Joey refused stubbornly.

"Well, you don't have a choice. The card is yours, Joey. So, how did you guys beat Slifer?" Yugi asked her.

"Kaiba wimped out and thankfully," she exaggerated the last word, glaring at Kaiba, "Slifer's points were determined by her number of opponents."

"Can we go now? We've got one more chump to deal with," Kaiba whined.

Alexa sighed, running a hand through her hair, because she realised Kaiba was right. If they had faced Slifer, and the others had faced Obelisk, there was only one more Egyptian God left to face, and it was the most powerful of them all. How would Ra's abilities translate into the game when there were no life points to use? Unfortunately, there was only one way to find out.

"Lets go, kiddies. It's time to Duel," she grimaced.

The four headed towards the next entryway to reveal another spacious room. Yet again, their opponent was waiting for them. This guy had wispy blond hair, contained within a golden winged circlet. A golden plated breastplate covered his bare and muscular chest, but his most prominent feature were the golden wings that were folded behind him.

"I've got to say I'm impressed. To beat Slifer and Obelisk with 4000 points each. You obviously have a couple of tricks up your sleeve," he regarded them cautiously.

Alexa kept a straight face. So he didn't know the details of their battles, or that they had faced the other Gods as duos. She supposed it was some sort of advantage since he didn't know what their stats were, or the cards they had to power themselves up.

"Looks like I'll just have to raise the standard," he admitted.

Waves of radiant light pulsed from the guy's body, his stats showing he was a ten star monster with 0 attack and defence points. Joey laughed.

"Hey man, you haven't even got a single attack point," he pointed out.

"Don't expect it to stay that way," Alexa growled, drawing her bow.

"Smart and pretty. I like that," their opponent smiled at her.

Any other day and Alexa may have enjoyed the attention from a first rate Adonis. Unfortunately, when said Adonis was about to trap you in a video game for all eternity, she wasn't feeling it so much. That was when his star level began to decrease. Alexa watched as the stars vanished, each of them supplementing his attack and defence. So that was the catch. Instead of life points, you gave up your stars and for each one sacrificed, you got 1000 attack and defence points.

'Adonis' struck at each of the guys as Alexa tried to follow him with her bow. He had five stars remaining, with the five sacrificed allowing him to achieve Atk 5000/ Def 5000. All she could do was watch in frustration as each of them went flying back, hitting the labyrinth walls around them. Next, 'Adonis' came to confront her.

"So, what's your name, sweetheart?" He smiled.

"Alexa, and if it wouldn't send me flying back into a wall, I would have kicked you in the face already," she warned him.

"That's kind of hot," he admitted.

Alexa actually flushed. Guys should be intimidated by her, not compliment her. Especially when she was in battle mode. It was terribly insulting. So, she did the only thing she could think of, and aimed an arrow at his face. Alexa braced for impact as her feet left the ground, ready to hit the wall, only to find Adonis had caught her in his arms. How embarrassing. Saved by the enemy.

"If I ever meet you in real life I am going to whip your but," she barked.

"That I can believe, given your reputation," he smirked as he cradled her body close to his chest.

Alexa yelped as she was snatched into another's arms and was surprised to see that Kaiba now held her, his white mask having reappeared. 'Adonis' lashed out, Kaiba shifting into a defence position with his back turned to the opponent so he could shield Alexa from the blast. Then a blinding white light began to be admitted from his body. Alexa watched as the light encompassed him, finally blasting their opponent away as Kaiba levelled up.

"Now!"

"Go, 'Lightning Vortex'," Joey announced, holding the card up in the air.

Crackles of white lightning were summoned from the heavens, encompassing 'Adonis'. Alexa shielded her eyes, shocked as the golden boy disappeared from the room.

"Way to go, Joey!" Yugi cheered.

"I… I did it?" Joey gulped. "Ah, course I did it! I'm da best."

Alexa chuckled as she watched Joey recover from his act of heroics. However, their elation was delayed as a dark hole opened up in the middle of the room, familiar blonde locks emerging from its infinite emptiness.

"Your not the only one who can use Spells," he grinned, holding up a 'Dimension Distortion' card for them to see as it faded from existence.

Alexa cursed, supposing the card allowed him to return to the battlefield. However, something was amiss. As he returned his stats gleamed, showing them he only had five stars, but his attack and defence had returned to zero, just like when Ra was sent back to a player's hand.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" He grinned.

Again, he began to glow a radiant golden light, but this time Alexa was ready for him. She held up the Spell card the Princess had given her and activated it, hoping it would have the desired effect. Next, she shot an arrow in his direction.

"You know that gets annoying after a while," he frowned at her as she shot backwards.

Alexa skidded across the floor and was able to slow her backwards momentum. Upon realising his deflection wasn't as powerful as before, 'Adonis's eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but I just used my 'Cost Down' card to take away two of your stars," she grinned.

'Adonis' scowled as his stats lit up to show he had one star, accompanied by Atk 2000/ Def 2000. Alexa looked towards Kaiba, hoping his recent levelling up had managed to push his attack over 2000. Surely it would have? He only needed 200 more points to match him at level four. 'Adonis' regarded Kaiba carefully and, deciding there was no other way to find out how strong he was, lashed out. Alexa gasped as Kaiba was thrown backwards. His stats stood at three stars, Atk 200/ Def 700.

"What da hell, Kaiba? Did you get hit by a 'Cost Down' card too?" Joey complained.

"Just watch, you idiot," Kaiba scowled, picking himself off the floor.

Kaiba stood, facing the golden boy with pure fury in his eyes.

"Come forth, 'Blue Eyes White Dragon'," he bellowed, one arm raised.

Alexa watched, amazed, as the light of summoning filled the room. The great White Dragon appeared, screeching its infamous roar. She had never been so glad to hear that roar in all her life. Its jaw opened wide, building up a deadly ball of light from its mouth, firing it at their target. Soon, the golden boy was sprawled on the ground, firmly defeated.

"Nice one, Kaiba," Yugi complimented him.

"So, what just happened?" Joey asked, confused.

"You see Joey, just like in Duel Monsters, you can have weak monsters who have amazing abilities. So as Kaiba levelled up, he gave up stars and points for the ability to call forth 'Blue Eyes'," Yugi explained.

Alexa marvelled at the Dragon that stood before her. She knew it wasn't real, but it sure did feel like it. She stretched out her hand, the dragon fixing its beady eyes on her. She paused, waiting for the dragon to muster a response. Slowly, the dragon bowed its head and Alexa stroked its smooth and rough scales.

"Petting time is over," Kaiba remarked, causing the dragon to disappear.

Alexa pouted, but, as always, he was right. They needed to find out where Mokuba was. She stomped over to the fallen boy on the floor, holding him up by his breastplate.

"Where's Mokuba?" She demanded. "And how the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

"They're all in the dungeons. As for getting out of here, you can already do it. I was the last defence for the Labyrinth. It's over now, sweetheart," he smiled weakly before having a coughing fit. "Better get out of here quick, the Labyrinth is about to be eradicated from existence."

"Thanks," Alexa nodded, dropping 'Adonis'.

"Anytime sweetheart. Remember you promised to kick my but in real life," he chuckled before popping out of existence as he exited the game.

Alexa rolled her eyes and headed towards the lower levels of the labyrinth that contained the dungeons.

"Seto! Alexa!" Mokuba yelled from his jail cell.

"Time to go, Mokuba. Play time's over," Kaiba told him.

"Don't you think I've been trying?," He rasped, infuriated.

"It's ok now. We fixed it," Alexa smiled.

"Awesome! I don't think I'll be playing for a while," he grumbled. "Come on guys, let's get out of here."

Alexa watched as the people being held in the cells (game testers she guessed) started to disappear. Finally, Mokuba gave them a nod and was the final person to disappear from behind bars, allowing Alexa to finally take off her helmet and return to reality.


	6. Chapter 6 - Small Rebellions

**Chapter Six - Small Rebellions**

"Well, that was interesting," Alexa sighed, collapsing on the sofa in exhaustion still clutching her virtual reality helmet.

"Guess you're a newbie to being stuck in a video game, huh?" Mokuba chuckled from where he sat cross-legged on the floor.

"How are you guys not?" She said exasperated.

"It happens," Mokuba shrugged.

Alexa gawped at the teen as he echoed his brother's words.

"Are you sure you're ok, Mokuba?" Yugi asked the boy.

"No thanks to you," Kaiba sneered, arms crossed.

"Hey, this wasn't Yugi's fault, Kaiba," Téa pouted.

"Yeah, if it's anyone's fault, it was those goons who hacked da thing, and let's not forget who set up da firewalls and dat stuff," Joey defended.

"Are you questioning my security, Wheeler?" Kaiba challenged him.

"You bet I am, rich boy."

"Just stop, ok?" Alexa shouted. "Look Kaiba, we'll get to the bottom of this. If anything, I've already got some options to consider…"

Alexa frowned as she recalled the golden boy's words, ' _that I can believe, given your reputation_ '. Add that to Ruby's rant about wanting to control them like puppets and that left a list of enemies in Alexa's mind that she needed to explore. A very, very long list.

"Speaking of security, what are these guys doing here in the first place? They're on the no entry list as far as I'm concerned," Kaiba growled, eyes pinned on their ID badges.

 _Busted_ , Alexa thought. Looks like she was going to face the consequences for that one later.

"Maybe we should get going," Tristan suggested, sensing the tension in the room.

"Yeah. We'll re-arrange your meeting, Yugi," Mokuba inputted.

"Not happening," Kaiba disagreed.

"What do you mean, Kaiba?" Yugi asked, looking him in the eye.

"Our business is done, Yugi," Kaiba said coldly, turning to head towards his office.

Mokuba followed, with an apologetic glance towards Yugi. Immediately, Tristan and Joey moved forward to retaliate, but Alexa jabbed each of them in the stomach causing them to crash to the floor, winded.

"What are you doing, Alexa? You can't agree with dis?" Joey raged from the ground.

"Of course I don't. Look, I'm sorry Yugi," she apologised.

"It's alright. He's had a rough day," Yugi said, still watching the direction Kaiba had exited.

Alexa seethed in her anger as she watched Yugi. If someone had just shot her down like that she would have thrown a fit, but there he was, just standing there with misplaced concern on his face. Mokuba was guaranteed to be trying to convince his brother to change his mind this instant, but knowing Kaiba, he hardly took his word back so easily. Maybe there was another way…

"Meet me in the lobby. Give me five minutes," she told them, turning to head off to her office.

Soon, she was heading down in the elevator, clutching the item she had retrieved tightly to her chest. Looking around the lobby, she spotted them hanging around and headed in their direction. She nodded at Yugi on approach and handed him the magazine.

"Duelist Weekly?" Yugi read, sounding confused as he looked at the cover.

"This is your ticket to getting your game developed," she explained. "I can't tell you anymore than that, but you already have most of the answers."

She directed that last part to Joey.

"What does she mean, Joey?" Téa questioned him.

"I… I don't know," he admitted.

"Just read it, look at it, don't miss a single detail," she instructed them. "I'll see you soon."

Then, she turned around to head back to her office, leaving a group of very confused people behind her. She just hoped they were able to figure it out. How they would do it, she didn't know, but it anyone could, it was them. She would be watching.

XxX

"According to our analysis, the labyrinth code was introduced to the game through a similar method to the way in which hackers infiltrated the television systems to lure you out before stealing, ah, certain technology," Alexa explained.

Kaiba's face remained expressionless as he listened to her report, his hands propping his chin up as he sat at his desk. Alexa was surprised to see he could remain so calm as she mentioned the floppy disc incident.

"So it's those hackers again? The group involving Sachi?" Kaiba asked.

"Maybe, but maybe not," Alexa hesitated. "The hackers that were involved in that group went off the grid following that incident. The only other organisation involved were those Shades I told you about. I think that maybe the Shades recruited the hackers to develop this plan."

"You mean the woman that shot you recruited them?" Kaiba wondered.

Alexa winced slightly as the memory washed over her. Before she knew it, her hand had reaching up towards her shoulder, almost as if she had the instinct to protect it.

"I think so. The Shades have never been a technology-based organisation, but if they recruited those hackers they could become more of a threat to companies, such as yours, that were once thought untouchable due to the advanced security way beyond our… err, their control," she grimaced.

"Have you tried contacting the one you know?"

"Yeah. Carter has been off the grid just as much as the others, which makes me even more confident that they've taken them in to strongarm themselves."

"What do they want?" He questioned her.

"I don't know," she sighed. "Control over your company, or… revenge. Revenge because I'm here."

Alexa didn't want to admit it, but she had promised once before that her previous affiliations wouldn't bring trouble to Kaiba Corp. She had wanted to lay low, in a safe spot where they couldn't reach her, but even Kaiba Corp had seemed to become a potential target for them now.

"Don't flatter yourself, Kage. My company is far more valuable than anything you have to offer," he taunted her.

"Of course. Thank you, Mr Kaiba," she smiled softly, thinking that was his way of saying it wasn't her fault.

"By the way. I still haven't forgotten you let the geek squad in," he scolded her.

 _Way to ruin the moment_ , she thought.

"What do I have to do for you to let that go?" She sighed.

He only brought it up every time she was in the room. Not that she was surprised. No one could hold a grudge like Seto Kaiba.

"Tell me about your time with the Shades."

Alexa stood still, staring him down. Face impassive, she took the seat opposite him to try and give herself time to think. Kaiba had never pushed this before. They had a mutual understanding about what was off limits to various topics, but he had still asked. Maybe he was a lot more worried about this than he let on.

"They're like a disease…" she began. "They infiltrate and before you know it, they take over. They stressed that all assets were useful, but when you're with them as long as I was, you start to see that some assets are more important than others. A boating company, an accountants, even a museum if you can believe it. What the link is, I don't have a clue."

"What about those they couldn't obtain," he asked, frowning.

"Well, there's you, Industrial Illusions, this book company…" she listed. "Apparently the gaming companies were highly influential and desirable, but we didn't have the technological knowledge to take over. As for the book company, I never figured that one out."

It was at that point that Mokuba decided to burst in, seemingly out of breath. The boy held out a finger, trying to catch his breath as the two watched him, waiting to see what had possibly happened.

"It's… hah hah… Yugi," he panted.

Alexa's heart skipped a beat.

"I've told you before, Mokuba. We're not developing that game," Kaiba scolded him.

"No… hah hah… he's triggered…"

Alexa grabbed Mokuba's arm before he had a chance to finish.

"Come on, Mokuba. You know how stubborn Kaiba can be. Let's let him work, ok?" She gushed.

Half-dragging Mokuba out the room, Alexa found it necessary to cover the raven-haired teen's mouth as she tried to stop him blabbing what she hoped to be the news she was waiting for. Outside Kaiba's office, she released him.

"Alexa! I was trying to tell you guys that Yugi's just come up on our system! He's triggered the cameras on Sakura Way and is exploring the room with his friends as we speak," he shrieked.

"Well, it's about time," she grinned.

Mokuba's face shifted to surprise as he registered her words.

"Alexa, don't tell me you told Yugi about the recruitment initiative," he gasped.

"I didn't tell him. I just lent him a copy of ' _Duellist Weekly_ ' and told him to read it thoroughly," she admitted.

"Isn't that cheating?" He sounded doubtful, yet slightly happy.

"No more than a teen with high level access letting you through into Kaiba's office so you can Duel him," she argued.

"That's pretty sneaky," Mokuba complimented her, gleefully.

"Yeah, well don't get too excited. Even if they find the laptop, how they're going to deal with the encryption I don't have a clue," she admitted.

"I wouldn't worry about that. Yugi is really good friends with Rebecca Hawkins," Mokuba told her.

"The American Duelist?" She asked, confused.

"She's way more than that. She's a genius and even managed to hack our systems before," he laughed.

"Well, I'll be damned," Alexa muttered.

"How do you think Yugi is going to challenge Kaiba to a Duel? There's no way they'll let him into the place after all that game stuff," Mokuba wondered.

"Well, they certainly won't be climbing the elevator shaft," Alexa chuckled. "They'll figure something out, I'm sure."

"So what do we tell Seto?" Mokuba grinned mischievously.

"Nothing. Do not say a word," Alexa warned him.

"My lips are sealed."


	7. Chapter 7 - The Challenge

**Chapter Seven - The Challenge**

"Kage!" Alexa winced as Kaiba's voice cracked static over her communication device. "My office. Now."

Alexa sighed and pushed herself back off her chair, opting to stop by the canteen to grab a mug of coffee before heading into his office. Kaiba stood there, the television remote in his crossed arms, seething in a calm rage.

"I told you to come now. Not after coffee," he growled.

"I've already told you, I don't like coffee," she reminded him, setting it on his desk. "It's for you. I know you get grouchy when you need caffeine."

"Is there anything you need to tell me?"

 _Ut-oh_.

"Ah, is this about the supercar?" She winced, trying to gage his expression as silence filled the room. "Because when I stole… ah, 'borrowed' it after you fired me that one time, I kind of realised about two minutes in that driving terrifies me and I thought it would be better if I just ditched it than crash it. Once we started getting fines, I was going to move it myself, but I just hate driving and I couldn't really ask anyone else…"

Kaiba's rage deepened.

"This isn't about that, is it?" She gulped. "Well, it's out there now. I'll go with you to move it if you want."

Alexa's voice faded away, kind of glad the whole supercar incident was out in the open. She really did hate driving and those fines were really piling up.

"Maybe this will give you a hint," he said emotionless.

Kaiba pointed the remote at the black television screen, which brightened to reveal Yugi. He was standing arms crossed and face serious as he addressed his audience.

"Many years ago, I took a step back from duelling to focus on game development, the title 'King of Games' laying dormant. But now is the time for new beginnings and I could think of no better opponent than a man who many now think to be my greatest rival, a truly relentless opponent who never backs down for a fight. So what do you say, Kaiba? Is it time to Duel?"

Alexa stared open-mouthed at the screen as it faded to black once again.

"You knew about this," Kaiba accused her.

"Actually, I didn't," she admitted, slightly stunned.

Ok, so she knew Yugi was going to challenge him at some point, but this? This was a plan so brilliant that Alexa actually wanted to give Yugi a round of applause for a game well played. The challenge had been made in obvious reference to the recruitment initiative thanks to the obvious placement of the copy of 'Duellist Weekly' in the background. Add that to the fact that Yugi had stated Kaiba as a man to never back down, as well as the added pressure from fan expectations, and Kaiba was well and truly backed into a corner.

"When did he enter Sakura Way?" Kaiba growled.

"Two weeks ago," she admitted.

"And when were you planning on telling me?"

"It was on the list. Right after I got around to telling you about the whole car incident," she promised.

Kaiba stormed off, heading out the room.

"Just think of all the publicity," she shouted after him.

The door slammed and Alexa was confident she was enemy number one. However, she couldn't help but think Kaiba's wrath was worth it, because soon the ultimate rematch of the century was about to begin, and it was going to be nothing short of epic.

XxX

Mokuba raised an eyebrow as Alexa rounded the corner with a wave to the Kaiba Corp security guys.

"Nice outfit, but Seto is going to kill you when he sees you," he laughed, shaking his head.

Alexa wasn't surprised. For the past week she had to pretend she wasn't bursting with pure excitement at seeing a Kaiba vs Yugi Duel firsthand. Nethertheless, Kaiba had figured he would ban her from the Kaiba Dome anyway. Thankfully, being known as Kaiba's personal assistant meant the security detail barely batted an eyelid as she wandered around backstage.

"Oh, hey big bro. You ready for your Duel?" Mokuba chirped, looking behind Alexa.

"I'm not falling for that again," she huffed, crossing her arms.

"Of course," came Kaiba's voice from behind.

Alexa jumped as she realised Kaiba was actually behind her, followed by Roland who carried the briefcase containing his deck.

"Oh, hey Kaiba!" Alexa shrieked.

Alexa laughed nervously as Kaiba took in her outfit. Given her carefree attitude over the past week in regards to the Duel, she expected him to be shocked, but if he was, he was hiding it well. She had gone full out fan mode, deciding to wear her t-shirt with ' _Blue Eyes_ ' at its centre with ' _Dark Magician_ ' and ' _Dark Magician Girl_ ' stood by the dragon's side. That plus her Converse with mini ' _Kuribo's_ ' on them, a multitude of Duel Monster badges on her bag, and her ' _Blue Eyes_ ' cap, and Alexa suspected her 'big secret' as a duelling fan was out.

"Nice hat," Kaiba smirked, adding a muttered 'dork' under his breath.

Alexa let out a breath of relief, glad she had opted for her ' _Blue Eyes_ ' cap instead of her ' _Dark Magician Girl_ ' wizard's hat.

"If you wanted to borrow the hat, Kaiba, you should have just said so," she laughed, removing it from her head.

"Not that you could reach, but if you want to stick around I suggest you put that hat back on your head," Kaiba scowled, catching her arm as she attempted to put it on his head.

"Right," she nodded, pulling her ponytail back through the cap and giving him a bright smile.

"Looks like we finally found a way to make Alexa compliant, huh?" Mokuba chuckled.

"Time to head to the private box," Alexa ordered, grabbing Mokuba before he could give Kaiba any ideas.

"Good luck, bro!" he called over.

"Hey, Kage."

Alexa grimaced, halfway out the door wondering if she could pretend she didn't hear him. Thinking it was better not risk it, she turned around.

"What?" She huffed.

"I can still get you kicked out anytime. Better do some serious cheering."

With an evil smirk, Kaiba turned and headed towards the duelling arena. Grumbling the entire way, Alexa headed towards the private box to take her seat between Joey and Mokuba, noting that Yugi's friends Téa and Tristan had also come to watch the Duel.

"What up with her?" Joey asked Mokuba, indicating a still grouchy Alexa as they took their seats.

"She's just angry she forgot her pom-poms to cheer for Seto with," Mokuba smirked.

"But don't you want Yug to win?" Joey wondered, confused.

"Not if I don't want to be kicked out," she said through gritted teeth.

At that Joey smiled, turning his attention to the duelling arena as the crowd went wild, a roaring cheer building up as Roland stepped up at it's centre, a microphone in his grasp.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" He called. "Are you ready to Duel?"

Alexa stood up in her seat, cheering wildly with the crowd, while Mokuba and Yugi's friends gazed at her wide eyed. Slightly embarrassed, she gave them a small wave and sat back down.

"Is she sane?" Téa frowned.

"Hey, you might have seen plenty of Duels in your life, Princess, but not all of us get the opportunity to watch one like this," Alexa said pointedly.

"Didn't you see any of Battle City, or the World Championships? You know these things happen on our doorstep, right?" Tristan pointed out.

"I saw some of it online. I just happened to be… working a lot," she shrugged.

Back in Battle City, Alexa had been busy scoping out an organisation called the Rare Hunters for the Shades. But was she allowed to join the agents working undercover in the tournament? Of course not. She would have actually enjoyed that role.

"Introducing the challenger, the man putting the title 'King of Games' on the line, Yugi Mutou!"

Alexa cheered with the others as Yugi entered the arena, slowly rising on a platform as pyrotechnics sparked in the background. All around the arena, Alexa gawped as holographic magicians seemingly fired fireworks around the room. Yugi gave a small smile in their direction and then his face became serious as he looked towards where his opponent would soon appear.

"Wow. Yugi really becomes a different person when he Duels, doesn't he? So serious," Alexa commented.

Sat between them, Alexa couldn't help but catch the glances that occurred between Mokuba and Yugi's friends. Seeing that they purposely avoided her eye as she frowned at them, she shrugged and watched as Kaiba was introduced.

"Now, introducing the man who has revolutionised Duel Monsters, the President of Kaiba Corp, and has the power of the great white dragon, Seto Kaiba!"

Kaiba appeared, arms crossed, as once again pyrotechnics shot upwards. This time, however, three huge white dragons flew across the arena, breathing fire of pure light. Alexa grinned, shaking her head at Kaiba's flamboyant entrance, noticing the slight smirk on his lips as he faced his opponent. His eyes flicked towards her as she began cheering him on, a fist raised high in the air.

"Let's Duel."


	8. Chapter 8 - The Ultimate Rematch

**Chapter Eight - The Ultimate Rematch**

Yugi drew from his deck, a look of pure focus on his face as he studied his cards.

"For my first move, I summon ' _Beta the Magnet Warrior'_ in attack mode," he announced.

"Is that all?" Kaiba taunted him. "Well, don't expect him to last long, Yugi. I summon ' _Slate Warrior'_. Now my monster, attack!"

Alexa watched as the warrior slashed at ' _Beta',_ Yugi's life points dropping to 3800 as ' _Slate Warrior'_ s attack of 1900 dominated over ' _Beta_ 's 1700, causing the crowd to go wild. To finish his move, Kaiba placed one card face down.

"You might regret summoning such a powerful monster, Kaiba," Yugi warned him. "Now come forth, ' _Skilled Dark Magician_ '."

"' _Skilled Dark Magician'_? What's that?" Mokuba asked.

"It's a really cool ' _Dark Magician'_ assist card. Once three Spell cards are played you can special summon it from your deck without two tributes," Joey explained.

"Plus, it's got 1900 attack points to boot. That's one powerful card," Alexa added.

Alexa watched as Yugi played his first Spell card, gasping with the crowd as she realised it was ' _Brain Control_ '.

"Now, your ' _Slate Warrior_ ' is in my control, attack his life points directly!" Yugi commanded.

Kaiba barely flinched, revealing his face down card with an outstretched hand. Alexa didn't realise she was holding her breath as he played ' _Negate Attack_ ', thereby saving himself from what could have been a devastating blow. As Kaiba's turn came around he placed one monster in defence mode, and one card face down, before ending his turn.

"Alright, Yug! You've got him runnin' scared," Joey cheered.

"As if. My brother always has a plan," Mokuba defended him.

Next, Yugi also placed a monster in defence.

"Now, ' _Skilled Dark Magician_ ', attack his face down monster," Yugi called.

Alexa frowned, thinking it was a risky move for Yugi given Kaiba's face down and an unknown monster in play. As the face down card revealed itself, the crowd went wild as ' _Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands'_ was revealed.

"Told you," Mokuba smiled.

Alexa smirked as she realised Kaiba had baited Yugi to attack him, all to activate ' _Manju_ 's flip effect to move a Ritual Monster or Spell card to his hand.

"Thanks for the assistance, Yugi. Now I play the Spell ' _White Dragon Ritual_ ', so that I can summon ' _Paladin of White Dragon_ '. Now my dragon, attack Yugi's face down card!"

The audience watched as Kaiba tributed a monster to summon his dragon of 1900 attack points. Immediately, the dragon attacked, causing the reveal of Yugi's face down monster ' _Soldier of Stone_ ', which burst into a rain of sparks.

"Wait, what happened? That monster had 2000 defence points," Téa questioned.

"It doesn't matter. ' _Paladin'_ can destroy any face down monster without battle calculation, but that's not all it can do…" Alexa began.

"Come on Alexa, don't spoil it," Mokuba grinned.

"This is Seto Kaiba. We all know it's going to happen eventually," Alexa sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Now, I play ' _Graceful Charity_ '," Yugi announced, drawing three cards to send two to his graveyard, "so that now I can finally summon ' _Dark Magician_ '!"

Alexa let out an inhuman squeal as the infamous ' _Dark Magician_ ' was summoned to the field, his impassive face unimpressed as he folded his arms around his purple sceptre.

"Nice ' _Blue Eyes_ ' impression, Alexa," Mokuba joked.

"Thanks," she whispered as she realised she was off her seat in awe at the card, the crowd going wild as Yugi's signature card made its appearance.

"Now, my magician, attack Kaiba's ' _Paladin_ '," Yugi demanded.

"Not so fast. I play ' _Shift_ '," Kaiba called, revealing a face down Trap card.

Alexa watched as the ' _Dark Magician_ ' turned away from ' _Paladin_ ', choosing to attack ' _Slate Warrior_ ' instead. Kaiba's life points were reduced down to 3400, however, thanks to ' _Slate Warrior_ 's Monster effect, the magician's attack and defence went down by 500 points.

"Wasn't that a waste of a trap card? I mean he still would have lost 500 points if he lost ' _Paladin_ ', right? Or was it to weaken Yugi's monster?" Tristan wondered.

"Now it's time to reveal my ' _Paladin_ 's other special ability! I sacrifice him so that I can summon," Kaiba paused, smirking as the crowd went wild, "my ' _Blue Eyes White Dragon'_!"

"Never mind," Tristan muttered, before anyone could open their mouths.

"Shh," Alexa glared at him. "My wildest dreams are about to come true."

Alexa turned back to the Duel, the crowd reaching an all time high as they realised the face off that was about to go down. Before ending his turn, Kaiba played ' _Pot of Greed'_ to refresh his hand, his eyes sparkling in the heat of battle. In retaliation, Yugi went on the defensive, switching ' _Dark Magician'_ to defence mode, as well as playing ' _Alpha the Magnet Warrior_ ' in defence mode. To finish, Yugi placed two face down cards on the field.

"Let me guess, ' _Magical Hats_ '?" Kaiba smirked. "Talk about predictable. Unfortunately, that won't help you now."

Kaiba proceeded to play the card ' _Kaiser Sea Horse_ ', however as Alexa mentally prepared herself for the classic ' _Blue Eyes'_ vs 'Dark _Magician_ ' show down, Kaiba seemed to decide against predictable.

"You see, Yugi, you're not the only duelist that Pegasus likes to design cards for. I play the Spell card ' _Burst Stream of Destruction_ '," Kaiba bellowed. "It's a card that in exchange for my ' _Blue Eyes_ ' attack this one turn, I can destroy all monsters on your side of the field."

Alexa's mouth fell open as the ' _Dark Magician'_ and ' _Alpha'_ was engulfed in a stream of light from the dragon's mouth, causing their destruction. It was at that point that the crowd, and Alexa, lost it, all of them rising from their seats in awe as Kaiba attacked Yugi's life points, bringing them down by half to 1700.

"Yeah. Go Kaiba!" Alexa shouted.

"Who do you want to win, Alexa?" Joey pouted.

"Whoops, sorry. I kind of forgot Yugi's career depends on this," she admitted guiltily, sitting herself down.

"Don't worry. Yugi's come back from worse than this," Téa nodded.

"I hope so, Princess. Geez, this makes my Duel with Kaiba look like child's play. He barely used any of these cards on me," Alexa admitted.

Yugi drew a fresh card, his face unfazed as he strategised his next move. Alexa couldn't believe how unbelievably calm he was when faced with one of the most powerful monsters in Duel Monsters. But then again, it wasn't like he hadn't faced it before.

"Alright, first I play ' _Magnet Reversal'_ so that I can bring back ' _Alpha_ ' from the graveyard. Next, I'll sacrifice ' _Alpha_ ' so that I can summon ' _Invitation to a Dark Sleep_ ', and thanks to my monster's special effect, your ' _Blue Eyes_ ' can no longer attack," Yugi explained.

"Nice. I've never seen that card in Yugi's deck before," Mokuba praised him.

"It sure came in handy. I mean it's basically a monster with a ' _Spellbinding Circle'_ ability to boot," Alexa agreed.

"You may have stopped one ' _Blue Eyes_ ', but let's see how you deal with two," Kaiba sneered, tributing his ' _Sea Horse_ ' to summon the dragon, using the cards special effect to act as two tributes when summoning a light monster.

Alexa couldn't help but think what a good addition to her deck that ' _Sea Horse_ ' would make. But then again, so would ' _Blue Eyes_ ', but it wasn't like that was going to happen anytime soon. Next, Kaiba declared his attack, but it seemed that Yugi was more than prepared to face the beast.

"Not so fast. I play ' _Magician's Selection',"_ Yugi announced. "This was a defence I put in place to protect my magician, but it works just as well with other Spellcasters and allows me to destroy a monster on the field with the lowest attack points. Since your monsters are tied, I get to choose and I choose the attacking ' _Blue Eyes_ '."

Yugi smiled as Kaiba ended his turn, a mischievous glint in his eye as he drew his next card, placing it in his hand as he opted to play ' _Pot of Greed_ ' to add two cards to his arsenal.

"It's about time I turned this thing around. First, I play ' _Lightning Vortex'_ , which means it's goodbye to your ' _Blue Eyes_ '," Yugi called out, paying the one card toll of the Spell card. "Now, I summon ' _Gamma the Magnet Warrior',_ and now that you're wide open, it's time for my monsters to attack you directly!"

Kaiba grimaced as the two monsters attacked at his life points, their combined attack causing a devastating deduction of 3000 to bring his life points to a mere 400. Alexa couldn't help but feel sorry for him, watching as Kaiba could do nothing but draw his next card. Fortunately, that meant Yugi could become a game developer at Kaiba Corp.

"Nice move," Kaiba smirked.

Alexa's mouth hung open as she realised Kaiba was smiling. Add that to the fact that he had just paid Yugi a compliment and she suspected he might be having some sort of personal crisis. Yugi's eyes narrowed at his opponent, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Show me what you've got, Kaiba," he challenged.

Alexa blinked, the silence of the stadium deafening as, for the first time, everyone got the sense that they were about to witness a true come back, all thanks to the merit that Yugi gave his rival. At that moment, all eyes were on Kaiba as he began his move.

"Gladly. To start things off I'll place one card face down. Now, I summon ' _Cave Dragon_ '," Kaiba began.

"No way! How can a four star monster have 2000 attack points?" Tristan exclaimed.

"Because it can only be summoned when you have no other monsters on da field and it can't attack unless another dragon is on da field," Joey told him.

"So what good is that?" Tristan wondered.

"Now, I can summon ' _Clone Dragon'_ directly from my hand with the same attack and defence points as my ' _Cave Dragon_ ', he continued.

"Alright! Two monsters with 2000 attack points!" Morula cheered.

"Yeah, and now the ' _Cave Dragon_ ' can attack! It's just a shame the ' _Clone Dragon_ ' requires 1000 life points to attack, otherwise Kaiba could have cleared Yugi's field," Alexa sighed.

"Now, go my ' _Cave Dragon_ ', attack ' _Invitation to a Dark Sleep',"_ Kaiba finished, bringing Yugi's life points to 1200.

"Yeah!" Alexa yelled across the stadium, once again leaving her seat. "You tell him, Kaiba."

"Go Seto!" Mokuba added.

Alexa beamed like a proud parent as Kaiba gave her a look and rolled his eyes, his lips twitching as if he was trying to suppress a smile.

"Did you guys see that? That was amazing!" Alexa gasped, grabbing Joey by the shoulders and shaking him a little.

"I saw it. I saw it," Joey laughed, trying to swot her away.

"Does she even realise she's cheering for that guy?" Téa muttered.

"Nice, but now it's time to introduce my ' _Dark Magician Girl_ '," Yugi announced.

"I think I might faint," Alexa swooned.

As Yugi sacrificed ' _Gamma_ ', the crowd went wild, Alexa screaming with the rest of them as ' _Dark Magician Girl_ ' appeared on the field with a spin and a wink to drive the audience into fits of admiration. Currently, she had 2300 attack points, thanks to the ' _Dark Magician_ ' residing in Yugi's graveyard.

"Hey Mokuba, you ok dere?" Joey laughed.

Alexa turned to see Mokuba had gone a slight shade of pink, a flush brought to his cheeks. She made a mental note to forever remember it to use as blackmail as Yugi commanded the magician to attack Kaiba's ' _Clone Dragon_ '.

"Not so fast, I play ' _Command Silencer_ '," Kaiba called, revealing his Quick-Play Spell card.

Alexa was almost disappointed as ' _Dark Magician Girl_ ' returned back to her side of the field as Kaiba used the card's second effect to draw another card, his eyes narrowing with glee as Yugi's turn came to an end.

"Now I summon," Mokuba predicted, his words matching Kaiba's perfectly.

Alexa smirked.

"' _Blue Eyes White Dragon_ '," the three synchronised.

"I swear those things jump out at him from his deck," Alexa laughed as Mokuba doubled over in his seat.

"Now my dragon, attack Yugi's magician," Kaiba commanded, one arm outstretched.

Throughout the crowd there were small outbursts of protest as the mighty dragon opened his jaw to build a mighty white burst of light. However, Yugi revealed his face down card ' _Magical Hats_ ' to hide his magician within, causing a sigh of relief to circulate as Kaiba's attack hit a Trap card placed underneath.

"Looks like I was right, as usual," Kaiba smirked. "One more turn Yugi, and I'm going to finish this."

"Well you're right," Yugi admitted, drawing his card and giving it a glance, "but only about the one more turn part."

Alexa held her breath, wondering if this could really be the end.

"I summon ' _Celtic Guardian_ ' in attack mode, and now I play ' _Dark Magician's Tome of Black Magic_ ', thereby bringing my magicians attack to 3000. Now my magician, attack Kaiba's ' _Blue Eyes'!"_ Yugi bellowed.

' _Dark Magician Girl_ ' studied her book for a moment, nodding as she closed it and kept it grasped at her chest. She raised her wand, ' _Blue Eyes_ ' letting out a ball of bright light that clashed with her magical attack, both of them meeting in the middle to clear the battlefield of both monsters. Alexa was so ecstatic about such a confrontation, she barely even noticed as Yugi summoned his remaining monster to clear Kaiba of his remaining life points, allowing him to be declared the winner.

"That's it. My life is complete," Alexa sighed, leaning back in her chair.

Coming around from her stunned and content silence, Alexa opted to hop over the barrier of the private box and try to catch up the Kaiba as he left the arena while Yugi stood at its centre, giving the crowd an awkward wave. Shrugging, Mokuba followed.

"That was epic," she gushed as she caught him up. "That bit with…"

"I don't want to hear it, Kage," Kaiba barked.

Alexa stopped, watching him with a frown as he headed into the player's preparation room.

"Don't take it personally. It's not about the game, it's about Yugi. Seto really wanted to beat him for once," Mokuba sighed.

"I know."

Looking back to see Yugi encompassed in a tight hug with his friends, she watched as Joey indicated for them to join her. Yugi himself was glancing past her, where Kaiba had disappeared, a look of sympathy on his face.

"Go give Yugi a big Kaiba Corp welcome. I need to talk to Kaiba," she explained.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mokuba asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Nope, but when are my ideas ever good ones."


	9. Chapter 9 - Face Offs

**Chapter Nine - Face Offs**

"Go away, Mokuba," Kaiba muttered as he stared out the window, watching over Kaiba Land.

"Good job I'm not Mokuba," Alexa revealed.

Kaiba turned slowly, looking at her with one eyebrow raised before turning back to the window. She decided to take that as permission to come and join him.

"Let's get it over and done with then," he sneered, eyes fixed on a point in the far distance.

"That was the most amazing Duel I have ever seen in my life," she declared, beaming.

"What? No taunts. The match is over, Kage. You don't have to be my cheerleader anymore," he growled.

"Is that really what you think? That the fans care about whether you win or lose?" She wondered, blinking in disbelief.

"What else do they care about?" He muttered.

"You complete and utter idiot," she laughed, earning herself a cold stare. "Look at them down there." She indicated the audience leaving the stadium. "Do you think they're saying 'Wow, can't believe Kaiba lost?'. Of course they're not! They are down there reliving every glorious moment of that Duel, regardless of who won or lost."

"I don't need your sympathy, Kage," Kaiba said, pawing her off.

Alexa let out a grunt of frustration, grabbing his laptop off the side and typing in the web address that she always used to watch duels, since she could never be there in person. She clicked on the stream and maximised the video, glad they were currently streaming from outside the stadium to gain audience opinion.

"Watch," she commanded, shoving the laptop in his face for him to take.

"Hey. What was your favourite part of the Duel?" Asked the interviewer on screen.

"It's got to be the ' _Dark Magician Girl_ ' vs ' _Blue Eyes'_ showdown. I can't believe Kaiba summoned all three ' _Blue Eyes_ ' cards in one Duel!" The teen replied, her friend butting in onto the screen.

"Forget ' _Blue Eyes_ '. ' _Dark Magician_ ' ruled the show and Yugi didn't even use the classic tribute summon. Awesome," her friend grinned.

"Pfft. Kaiba blew away that card in five seconds flat."

The interviewer moved on as the kids started the argue, asking an older man what he thought of the Duel.

"They didn't Duel like that in my day," he grinned, causing the interviewer to laugh as his fake teeth fell from his mouth.

"Jaw dropping stuff indeed," he joked.

Then a small kid, maybe about five years old ran on screen dressed in a full ' _Blue Eyes'_ onesie.

"Hey kid, nice outfit. What did you think of the Duel?"

"Best. Duel. Ever!" He screamed into the camera before running off, followed by a very out of breath guardian.

Alexa leaned over Kaiba's shoulder and pressed the mute button on the laptop.

"See. The fans don't care about the end result. All they want to do is talk about all the epic moves they saw. I mean, when you did that ' _Cave/Crystal Dragon'_ combo, I actually thought I was going to have a heart attack. It was just… brilliant!" She gushed, her hands balling up into fists to rest on her chin.

"I could tell. I'm pretty sure the people outside the stadium heard you cheering for me," he taunted.

Alexa blushed recalling her actions. How much had he noticed? How much had Mokuba gotten on his camera phone? Those were two questions she really wanted to stay rhetorical for the rest of her life.

"Yeah, well… I didn't want to get kicked out," she coughed, trying to look casual as she leaned back.

"We all know if security even tried you would have knocked them all out. Just admit you wanted me to win," he smirked.

"I did not!" She shot back, pitch high.

"Says the girl in a ' _Blue Eyes_ ' cap, most likely wondering if they make ' _Blue Eyes_ ' onesies for adults."

Alexa stammered, trying to think of something witty to say, all thoughts of searching the internet later on for onesies clear from her mind.

"Fine," she shouted in defeat, raising her arms in resignation. "I wanted you to…"

"Are you guys still not done yelling at each other?" Mokuba asked as he barged into the room, a frown on his face.

"Go away, Mokuba," Kaiba ordered, relishing in the fact that Alexa was squirming under his gaze.

"Why can't you just leave Alexa alone, Seto?" Mokuba scowled.

Alexa was inclined to agree, shifting her slightly panicked gaze to meet Mokuba's before looking away. Kaiba muttered something inaudible under his breath as the tension filled the room.

"Come on. Yugi's got a contract to sign," Kaiba stated, walking out the room.

As Mokuba followed in his wake, Alexa's brain had a slight delay in processing as she headed out to follow them. Did he say? No. Her brain was obviously imagining things. Seto Kaiba was not smooth enough to come out with the line, 'I don't think she wants me to'.

XxX

"Alexa."

She looked up from her tablet where she was currently accessing the work being done to improve Kaiba Corp's security systems.

"I'm sorry I'm huffing, ok?" She whined. "I just don't understand the techno mumbo-jumbo you've done to improve the firewalls."

Alexa had decided, given recent events, that security needed to be tightened at Kaiba Corp. Unfortunately, the technological side made her feel like an idiot. She would much rather be scoping out floor plans and grilling the staff on how they carry out their jobs. Physical stuff. Stuff that made sense.

"I have a meeting," Kaiba stated, arms crossed.

"Then go," she dismissed him with a wave of her hand.

"Aren't you coming?" He inquired, giving her a glare that said 'you better come'.

"Why do you insist I attend all your meetings all of a sudden? All I do is stand there," she huffed, pouting.

"Good. Let's go," he commanded, acting as if he hadn't heard her protests.

Alexa followed Kaiba to the meeting rooms, wondering why he had insisted that she start to attend his meetings. If anything, she found them boring and ended up passing out sarcastic comments. Maximillion Pegasus had loved it, others not so much, which meant it wasn't exactly a great business tactic to say the least.

"Is it a Pegasus meeting again? I thought he gave you permissions to use Duel Monsters for the game development already," she frowned.

"He did. By the way we're having lunch with him before he leaves town," Kaiba added, more than annoyed at the prospect.

"Can I ask why?" She wondered, eyebrows raised.

"He refused to sign the contract until I pencilled it in," he grumbled.

"I really don't know what happens in that man's head," Alexa sighed.

"You're telling me."

Alexa and Kaiba entered the meeting room, Alexa stopping dead centre as soon as she realised who was sat within. First, she glared at the young woman avoiding her gaze, who was brushing a hand through her short and curly locks, then her eyes moved over to the older gentleman with matching brunette hair, already containing patches of silver. His familiar hazel eyes were on her, trying to gauge her reaction as she donned a mask of calm.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," she stated, trying to keep her voice steady.

"I invited them," Kaiba revealed, taking a seat.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," she repeated, more pointedly.

"Sit down, Alexa," Kaiba growled.

Alexa grabbed the seat, her hand gripping the cool metal all too tightly. Even as she moved, her eyes never left the two people that sat across from her.

"You'll have to tell me how you got my daughter to be so compliant, Mr Kaiba. Lord knows she never listened to me," her father commented, an eyebrow raised as she sat down.

"We're not here to discuss parenting tips," Kaiba stated.

Alexa had to give him credit. He hadn't even twitched when her father had revealed himself. At least she didn't have to worry about him crumbling under his mental games. She wasn't too sure for her own mind though.

"I'm here to discuss your failed attempts to acquire my company," Kaiba proposed, leaning back in his chair.

"If you are referring to the recent incident involving gaming software, that wasn't us. We're not too interested in your company, Mr Kaiba, but I must say we're more than interested in you," her father revealed. "I hear you have quite an intriguing… past."

"He was an orphan, adopted by a billionaire because he was good at Chess. Yay for him," Alexa grumbled, more than unimpressed with Kaiba at present.

"Forgive my daughter. As remarkable as that story is, how a young boy clawed his way to the top, I was referring to a more _distant_ past," her father remarked, leaning forward in interest.

At that, Kaiba's eyes narrowed.

"You were right, Kage. We're done here," Kaiba finalised, standing up.

"Don't be so hasty. I have more than enough to offer you in return. You see I believe we have already assisted you in retrieving a certain floppy disk from the clutches of others that would misuse it," he informed them.

"Irrelevant," Alexa snapped. "I retrieved the floppy disk."

"Of course. It was left in the hard drive for you to retrieve by 'mistake' of Letterman, I'm sure," he said, voice hinting at sarcasm.

"Yeah, Letterman doesn't make mistakes does she. Kind of makes we wonder why she almost killed me," she spat, her hand brushing her shoulder.

"Mmm, you surprised everyone when you reappeared," he commented, acting as if she had gotten lost in a shop and not come back from the brink of death. "Anyway, we would like to provide our assistance in preventing the downfall of Kaiba Corp in exchange for your information."

"I think I would know if my company was on its knees," Kaiba sneered.

"All of our companies are on their knees. They're coming for the floppy disc Mr. Kaiba, and you know as well as I the impact that it would have on the world," he frowned, the slight show of emotion a surprise to Alexa.

"Thanks, but I can take care of it," she declared, stubborn.

"Yes, like you 'took care of it' the last time. The offer is on the table, Mr Kaiba. Perhaps you would be wise to take it before they get hold of the disc once again," he warned, standing to leave the building.

"Thanks for the warning, sis," Alexa muttered as Louisa brushed past her.

"Take the offer. You don't stand a chance on you own," was all she said before following their father out the room.

"Where are you going?" Kaiba asked as she stormed after them.

"I'm making sure they haven't made any unexpected stops. You idiot. Do you have any idea what you did when you invited them into the building?" She yelled, rushing out the room.

"Know thy enemy," he muttered.

"Yeah, well I know thy idiot," she said, storming off for some serious damage control, wishing she had something to punch in the face.


	10. Epilogue - Shame On You

**Epilogue - Shame On You**

Alexa made sharp and rapid jabs, causing the punching bag to jangle about its chain, almost threatening to hit her in the face. Given the day she was having, she almost expected it to.

"So this is where you're hiding," Kaiba appeared, leaning against the far wall.

"Roland said it was frowned upon to punch your idiot boss in the face, so the punching bag had to do," she barked.

"Will punching me make you feel better?" He drawled.

"Yes."

"Fine then," Kaiba sighed.

Alexa caught the punch bag mid swing and watched as Kaiba slipped off his jacket and tie. Her eyes widened slightly as he began unbuttoning his shirt, opting to flip them over his arm and place them on the side. Casually, he began strapping on the punching pads that were lying around on the floor.

"What?"

Alexa looked down as she realised she had been staring. I mean, shouldn't it be unfair to be a total technology nerd and have the body of a God?

"You do realise that stripping isn't going to change my mind about punching you in the face, right?" She snarked.

"It's a nice shirt," he informed her.

"Yeah, like those trousers aren't worth more than my salary," she muttered.

Then her face flushed as she realised what she had just implied, his expression settling on a smug smirk.

"Can I start hitting you now?" She muttered, feeling her anger spark all over again.

Alexa didn't even hesitate to throw a rapid punch toward his raised glove, feeling his hand trying to push against her own. Soon, she was lost in a rhythm, hitting out, a rapid assault being made against the small target that were Kaiba's hands. Eventually, Alexa let out a scream of frustration and opted to hit the punch bag, sliding to the floor in defeat as it swung around. Alexa unstrapped her boxing gloves, throwing them across the floor as Kaiba stared down at her.

"I was wrong."

Alexa was so startled she forgot her anger for a moment.

"You were what?" She gawped at him.

"I'm not saying it again," he muttered. "So what's the damage?"

"They didn't do anything. No bugs in the system, no evidence of hacking, or a breach. Nothing," she sighed.

"But they want the disc," he asked.

"No. That's what I don't get. If they wanted it, they would have taken it as I lay bleeding on the floor. I just don't know," she cried, hands in her head.

Alexa could feel the tears running down her cheeks. She was just so tired of this. Just as soon as she thought she could escape it, here they were again, trying to infiltrate her safe zone. Kaiba frowned at her, opting to give her a slight pat on the back in attempted sympathy.

"Not exactly surprising given you don't even know what's going on," Kaiba admitted, opting to join her on the floor.

Alexa let out a raspy laugh.

"Wow. Who knew your weakness would be a crying girl," she sniffed. "If I had known that I would have just bawled my eyes out every time you were mad at me."

"One time only, Kage," Kaiba sighed.

"Is this a good time to mention they towed your supercar?" She squeaked.

"What?"

"We never picked it up so…"

"Oh, forget about the damn car, Alexa," he barked. "If you hadn't noticed I'm a god-damn billionaire. I can afford another car."

"Or we could just get it," she pointed out.

"Fine. Let's go," he commanded.

"Right now?"

"Yes, now," he growled. "And while we're at it, we can sort out the situation with these Shades."

"I'll protect the disc by protecting you. You're the one who knows where it is and has the permissions to access it," she declared. "That's all we need."

"We can decide if that's the case when I've brought you up to speed on the situation," he stated, getting up from the floor, offering his hand to pull her up.

Alexa took it hesitantly, feeling the strength in his arm as he pulled her up with ease.

"You don't…"

"Just shut it, Alexa," he growled. "I'm telling you everything. I want you to know."

His words stuck home as Alexa remembered what she had told him back in his office when she had returned the disc the first time, ' _you'll tell me when you want me to know_ '.

"You really trust me that much?" She whispered.

"Well, not with my car, but other things…" he trailed off.

Alexa smiled, thinking it was the best she was going to get.

"Me too."

"Anyway, this might be fun now that I know your weakness," Kaiba smirked.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Alexa challenged him.

Kaiba stepped closer to her, invading her space and leaving her completely flustered. His blue eyes sparkled mischievously and she tried to look anywhere else, casually admiring the dumbbells at the side of the room. With a final smirk, he grabbed his shirt, sliding it on as he walked out the room, pausing when he realised she was still stood there, frozen. With a shake of her head, she followed him out.

Well hell, she thought, looks like my weakness is blatant flirting. Shame on you, Seto Kaiba.

XxX

A/N: So that's it everybody! There are two more planned installments of the Dunames Dark Witch to come and I'm really looking forward to writing them. As always your continued support is appreciated and I can't believe how many reviews and follows this story gets. Thank you so much guys, you are amazing - also shout out to Je t'aime Saku for always reviewing and the dedicated support of Time Turner!


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